


托 夫

by eruthros



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Post-War, Short, Trans Character, White Lotus LNY Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-13
Updated: 2011-02-13
Packaged: 2017-10-18 00:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/182984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eruthros/pseuds/eruthros
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ember Island Players did him a favor, really, when they took their show on the road.</p>
            </blockquote>





	托 夫

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kanata (kyuuketsukirui)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyuuketsukirui/gifts).



The Ember Island Players did him a huge favor, really, when they took their show on the road. Mai sent him an itinerary after the war: _your story made it here_ , she scrawled on the back. She scratched out the last five towns, though; the last stops of the tour were cancelled after they won. He doesn't know if she understands what it means to him, but it doesn't matter. It's still more space than he ever thought he'd have: Ba Sing Se and Omashu and Chin Village and the Fire Nation Capital and Ember Island and Shu Jing. It's everywhere but Gaoling.

He doesn't even have to change his clothes. It actually works _better_ if he looks like he used to, so he keeps the Earth Rumble belt and his old pants and robe. All he does is retie his hair, and put on a jin cap, and everyone recognizes him.

He keeps writing his name 托 夫, the same way he's been writing it for years. 北方拓芙 never left Gaoling; her parents kept her in petticoats there forever.

He travels around the parts of the Earth Kingdom where he'll be recognized, drinking makgeolli and spiced tea in the inns and solving any problems that can be solved with twelve tons of solid granite.

He's propping up the wall of a burnt building when he gets a message by eagle from the next town over; some people never think things through. One of the kids who always hangs around when he's working reads it out to him: "please come at once!"

"Huh," he says, and makes himself an earth wave that carries him across the valley. He hops down in the town center, in the middle of a group of officials. "Toph. I'm here to help."

"You're shorter than I expected," the mayor says doubtfully.

"Everybody says that," he says. "Now. What's the emergency?"

**Author's Note:**

> Toph's name is written two different ways in the series; 托 夫 = tuō fū = "entrusted man"; 拓芙 = tuò fú = "supported lotus."


End file.
